Disqus - Latest Comments for gcaptain

Re: More Macbook Sleep Problems?

gcaptain — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:00:39 -0000

I had this problem withmy black macbook then I got a macbook pro which worked great.. until I cloned the black MB and put it in the pro. This makes me bel;eve it is a Software issue.

Re: What Are You Sinking About?

gcaptain — Sat, 12 May 2007 09:48:05 -0000

LOL.....I'm fell of my $%#* seat

Re: UPDATE - This is Empress of the North’s 3rd Grounding

gcaptain — Mon, 14 May 2007 14:28:44 -0000

“bottoming out” would be more of a scrape... running aground means you are stuck either by the bottom itself or by the fact that if you back the ship down you will rip a large hole in the vessel. -JAK

Re: Photo Of An Engine

gcaptain — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:31:15 -0000

I did ;)

Re: Artist Attacks - ISPS Scare Aboard The Queen Mary 2

gcaptain — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:08:30 -0000

Ahh Tabor... I spent a few days their and had many friends at the academy during my days sailing Lasers in the LI Sound.

Re: May 9, 1980, Tampa - Skyway Bridge Disaster

gcaptain — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:08:09 -0000

I remember it myself although I was young. What I remember the most is how impressed the adults in the car were and how they were talking about it for what seemed like hours.

Re: LMSR Ablaze in Boston

gcaptain — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 08:10:43 -0000

Well thanks for the info John.... but it would be of much greater help if you told us what class vessel it was and maybe provided a link.

I'm pretty sure I got the picture right at least.

Re: Pasha Bulker - Questions and Answers

gcaptain — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:32:27 -0000

Great update, thanks again Ian. Particularly interesting is the rudder. I agree with Newcastle in thinking it will serve as a good reminder and give the tourists something to look at.

Re: Video - Not so bright boaters

gcaptain — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:52:16 -0000

I had one where we sounded the danger signal for about 5 minutes stopping when the sailboat finally crossed our bow. He must have thought silence meant danger because he quickly tacked and tried crossing our bow again!

Re: 5 Interesting Hurricane Tracking Charts

gcaptain — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:30:55 -0000

Interesting article on Graphic #3. I'll have to find a better modeling graphic for our weather dashboard.

Re: LMSR Ablaze in Boston

gcaptain — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:27:05 -0000

Thanks for the "insider" info Joe. I agree a Bravo Zulu sounds well deserved.

Re: Best Maritime Books | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:26:44 -0000

"Looking for a Ship" is a good one. For those who don't know it's the (non-fiction) account of an American 3rd mate looking for a job in tough times. Most of you who are members of MM&P; maritime officer's union have probably already read it.

Good pick, keep the suggestions coming!

Re: Google Earth - New Sky Feature | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:05:38 -0000

Good information, thanks Ben!

Re: gCaptain Blogroll - Big Ships

gcaptain — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:15:30 -0000

No problem Fred, well deserved.

Re: 5 Best Boating Blogs - gCaptain's Maritime Blogroll | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 23:13:33 -0000

Well deserved Peter! Sorry about the name mix-up, I wrote this article on a lay-over in Salt Lake.

Re: The Race Is On - NYC Tugboat Photos

gcaptain — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:06:12 -0000

Thanks Devon but Fred Fry and Will of Tugster.com deserve the credit for bringing this to my attention and photographing it (respectively).

Re: The Race Is On - NYC Tugboat Photos

gcaptain — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:14:22 -0000

Race for pushboat's eh? I'd like to see that.

Re: Future Anti-Piracy Weapon?

gcaptain — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 04:20:20 -0000

I don't see why it couldn't work aboard ships.....if.....it does in fact work.

Re: The Wartsila-Sulzer Super Engine

gcaptain — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:37:02 -0000

You are both right... I'll edit the Article title.

In related news... Stranded has a good article showing how these pistons and cylinder liners are reconditioned:
http://strandedmariner.wordpress.com/2007/09/02...

Re: 3rd Place Contest Winner Is…

gcaptain — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:58:20 -0000

He submitted his top story one day before the contest started.

Re: 3rd Place Contest Winner Is…

gcaptain — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 10:30:32 -0000

Well deserved Peter!

Re: Shipping Container Collapse - UK

gcaptain — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 02:21:09 -0000

Well deserved... plus I think your ahead of me us by about 5 links to 1.

Re: How not to anchor a ship - Video

gcaptain — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:19:16 -0000

"Nice PFD"... whew, I thought you were going to call me out for re-hashing old posts.

Re: Do You Know What They Call Me? - By The Artful Blogger | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:39:07 -0000

Fred,

They sure are changing! We just got our new environmental tracking sheet and it includes EVERYTHING. For example if you use a CO2 extinguisher during a drill you have to weigh it afterward to record the amount discharged!

It's mostly for the good except for the time they woke everyone up for a "safety shutdown" and the night crane fell asleep at the controls later that night!

Re: The Piper Alpha with fire in full blaze. | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:55:42 -0000

Amazing story, I did not even notice the small rescue boat in the photo until now. His guilt should be helped in knowing that the world took notice and made changes to offshore safety after hearing his story. It is still just a terrible incident though.

Re: Lifeboat Fatality Report - Podcast and Blog Links | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:56:23 -0000

Bob, thanks for clearing the myth up. I personally think Lifeboats are a necessary evil but too little thought goes into providing common sense exceptions and practices. I was unaware of the on-load statistics but will say (probably to the amazement of others) that it's only in the last few years that I've personally seen ships use maintenance pendants.

Re: Lifeboat Fatality Report - Podcast and Blog Links | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:19:12 -0000

....or just one pendant (the FWD one) during a drill where they lowered it. I didn't see that one personally but did get to see the fiberglass repair job the crew was very proud of completing.

Re: U.S. v. Martin Kapp – 10 Mariner Tax Questions Answered | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:37:15 -0000

Joe, I'll email James with your question or feel free to call him directly. His cntact information is on his website, here:
http://www.maguiretaxes.com/marine.htm

Re: for sale: one slightly used orange ferry | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:33:35 -0000

yeah but those ebay fees will kill you and don't get me started with paypal ;)

Re: ship graveyards - ghost ships at rest

gcaptain — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 23:19:10 -0000

Noted and corrected, thanks Tim.

Re: the queen elizabeth III? cunard lines orders a new ship

gcaptain — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:06:29 -0000

Phillip,

Thanks for the heads up. It appears that the BBC got the specifics wrong and changed their story... take a look at the original version from google cache:
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:VsdcGYg0ZV...

I'll make the changes as well.

Re: Collision Avoidance Tip - Call his boss!

gcaptain — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:31:34 -0000

Interesting... thanks for the tip anon. -John

Re: Environmental Impact and Salvage of M/V Pasha Bulker

gcaptain — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 10:29:44 -0000

For those interested I've written an article on new developments to this story:

http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/pasha-bulker-...

Re: Pasha Bulker - Questions and Answers

gcaptain — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:13:10 -0000

Harry, "Pasha Bulker" is simple the name of the ship that ran aground.

Re: Environmental Catastrophe Possible Averted as M/V Pasha Bulker Salvage Operation Continues

gcaptain — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:05:23 -0000

Bridge Team Management (called BRM in the industry) is a process to use all of your available resources during critical operations. It came from the airline industry which found an alarming number of accidents happened despite prior warning from the equipment or crew.... mostly by captains with military backgrounds and a "I can do this" (keyword: I) attitude who did not use (or in some cases trust) either the equipment or junior personnel.

Boiled down it's a class all officers must take in both teamwork and processing the large amounts of data (lookout reports, radar, radio comms, gps charting, weather information....) that pours into the bridge.

Re: Environmental Catastrophe Possible Averted as M/V Pasha Bulker Salvage Operation Continues

gcaptain — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:28:54 -0000

Here's a more official answer:

The Bridge Resource (or team) Management course introduces the concept of a navigation team to ship masters and watch officers and frames their decision making process toward establishing watch conditions during the course of the voyage. Bridge Team Management techniques will emphasize decision making based upon conditions related to workload and potential threat to the vessel. The intent of the program is to define the individual task and responsibilities of the various team members while developing a situational awareness to prevent individual errors.

Re: Ships Collide and One Partially Sinks Off Gibraltar | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:06:30 -0000

I sure did steven, thanks!

Re: Chief Engineer Convicted in Pollution Case

gcaptain — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:05:43 -0000

Hi Perry, appreciate the kind words!

Re: Maritime Flags of Convenience Visualized

gcaptain — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:19:11 -0000

I also work on a foreign flagged ship (Marshal Islands) that is tops on safety... but I have also seen other ships of my flag that are in a poor state. Seems to all hinge on the operator.

Re: Incident Photo of the Week - Norwegian Dream

gcaptain — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:13:49 -0000

Good catch!

Re: Pasha Bulker Incident Report - Nearly Unbelievable

gcaptain — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:59:39 -0000

Bob Couttie has written a good article titled "Politicking The Pasha Bulker", take a look:

http://maritimeaccident.wordpress.com/2007/10/1...

Re: 10 Things to remember if you’re shipwrecked | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:40:04 -0000

Fred... just don't use the same tube tube for you beer funnel during the "We've been found" celebration kegger!

Re: Watch your….. finances - Mint

gcaptain — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:10:56 -0000

Sure will!

Re: Do You Know What They Call Me? - By The Artful Blogger | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:04:53 -0000

My captain loved durian fruit which smells like the bosun's underarm. When you acted stupidthe ol man would 'invite' you to his office and offer you some fruit to help -his words- "digest what I'm about to tell you".

I ain't shitting when I say it took a week of scrubbing to wash off that stink.

Re: Are Rising Salaries Enough To Retain Mariners? | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 18:58:49 -0000

My father always said medical doctors know everything but do nothing, surgeons know nothing but do everything, psychologists know nothing and do nothing. pathologists know everything and do everything but it's just a little too late!

.....might be the reason you guys are undervalued?

Re: Are Rising Salaries Enough To Retain Mariners? | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:34:29 -0000

Money is unrelated to mishaps but is very much tied to the demand. Needless to say demand is cyclical and in our industry the amplitude at both ends seems greater than the overall economy.

Re: a dark and stormy night - photo

gcaptain — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:17:18 -0000

Jon, so would I... but I wasn't able to find it. I'll try to email the photographer.

Re: Was the titanic sunk by a small key?

gcaptain — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:41:49 -0000

Fred, those were my exact thoughts when I read the story... but it seems that it was just the key to the locker in the crows nest, not the bridge's glasses. I would have broken the locker but from what I know about Capt. Smith it's possible the AB's didn't want to press the issue.

Re: Moon Setting on Calm Water | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:25:28 -0000

Ok... I found it. Click on the image for the high resolution version!

Re: A gCaptain Halloween - Navy Ships in Razzle Dazzle Costume

gcaptain — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 23:06:23 -0000

Painting a ship is always a blast, eh!

Re: how not to land a helicopter on deck - video | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 03:35:10 -0000

Sorry Tim, I don't have the details but maybe another reader can fill us all in.

I have seen safe landings in much worse weather than this (well maybe not with the ship pitching THAT much) so I can only assume the problem was pilot error or equipment malfunction. The one crash I witnessed (actually I only saw the aftermath) totaled the aircraft. It happened because one skid got caught in the cargo net and as the helo took off it toppled over on one side. In this one case, however, it looks like the net really saved the day.

Re: Alaska Cruise Ship Incident Has Ties to Exxon Valdez Grounding

gcaptain — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:16:36 -0000

Tariel, my company is not currently hiring but post the question to our forum and you're likely to get a response:
http://gcaptain.com/maritime/forum/

Re: Manned Models - An Unusual Training Device | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:31:42 -0000

Tim, I never made it to the Marchwood center but looks interesting.

Anon, the short answer is he was distracted by the radio.

Re: Cosco Busan - Bridge Resource Management

gcaptain — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:46:52 -0000

Bob, you're right (of course) and I played around with the wording quite a bit... in the "previous post" link you can see the difference in wording. I avoided any official distinction because, despite USCG reports of no equipment failure, I'm not convinced the stuff that goes beep was properly set up by the bridge team. For example a simple Parallel Indexing line on the radar *might* have been enough to avoid the incident.

Re: San Francisco Pilot’s Report Published | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:06:49 -0000

David, I do know that type of system exists and I've seen it in use by Tampa Bay Pilots.. I do not know what specifically the SF pilots bring aboard as I have not sailed the bay with a State pilot in at least 5 years.

Things might change though. I have to think the Tampa Skyway Bridge disaster had something to do with the implementation of new systems

http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/may-9-1980-ta...

Re: VTS Warning to Cosco Busan Pilot | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:19:08 -0000

yep, Either that or the fact there is only one helmsmAn. t-shirts coming your way!

Re: Cosco Busan - Questions For Investigators

gcaptain — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:04:07 -0000

jollymon,

We are actually working on this with our friends at vesseltrax.com

Re: Nautical Word of the Day - Allision | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:21:11 -0000

Fergus, good catch but don't forget the temperature!

Re: MEGASHIP OOCL Atlanta - Video

gcaptain — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:36:27 -0000

Gotta love YouTube lately, eh.

Re: Ideas for a new ECDIS | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:09:27 -0000

Great comments guys, thanks. Be sure to check out my latest article; "San francisco Oil Spill Hearings - A Response to Admiral Bone, USCG"

Re: Green Power At Sea - OTEC

gcaptain — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:51:15 -0000

Great resource, thanks Thomas.

Re: Cruise Ship Explorer Antarctic Abandonment - Update

gcaptain — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:10:01 -0000

I'd have to ask a Naval Architect to answer your first question but a double hull is simple 2 hulls with an air gap between them. This means that if one hull is penetrated the second can maintain the watertight integrity of the vessel. These are primarily found on oil tankers and were mandated after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Here's a photo to illustrate a double hull:
http://www.diamondvessels.com/publish_files/d34...

Having a double hull doesn't mean automatically mean the bow was strengthened.

Re: History’s 10 Most Famous Oil Spills

gcaptain — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:26:26 -0000

Wow, great find. Thanks, Chris.

Re: Cruise Ship Explorer Antarctic Abandonment - Update

gcaptain — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:41:09 -0000

Good question!

"Do either really matter if you hit an iceberg?" yes, depending on how you hit the iceburg. If you scrape down the side at low speed the double hull will help but I don't know enough about the Class rating to give you a better answer.

Any one else know?

Re: Protecting The World’s Rarest Whales | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 05:25:11 -0000

Great find Peter!

Re: Ship Launching on Yokohama Fenders?

gcaptain — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:36:07 -0000

OldSailor... well deserved!

Re: Proposed Bill Mandates An Increase Of VTS Authority

gcaptain — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:30:45 -0000

Great string of comments, let's keep them going.

I just posted a few questions to the Council of American Master Mariner's forum (http://mastermariner.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t...), what are *your* thoughts?

In my article I call the notion of giving VTS final authority over a master's actions dangerous but conclude that VTS is well run in the US and provided it uses this authority only under extreme situations, history may find it to be a non-issue. Would you agree?

Other questions;
1) Is AIS and maritime technology up to the task of providing the information needed for VTS to over-rule a master's authority?
2) If so are there enough fail safes to assure AIS is secure, redundant and reliable enough to provide this data?
3) Are VTS officials going to board these ships or will the master's authority be over-ridden via VHF?
4) Who at VTS will have this authority? Will it be the watchstander, supervisor or should an experianced master mariner be stationed at VTS to approve the decision.

Re: Pasha Bulker Incident Report - Nearly Unbelievable

gcaptain — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:27:27 -0000

Thanks Ian!

Re: A gCaptain Halloween - Navy Ships in Razzle Dazzle Costume

gcaptain — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:50:11 -0000

Gus,

Thank you for brining my attention to the error. Being a staunch conservative at a young age and living in a predominantly liberal section of Westchester I latched on to the writings and television shows of conservative commentators of the day. Maybe it was because we shared an Irish/German heritage or a passion for sailing but my favorite television personality was an unusual choice for a teenage boy; William F. Buckeley of Firing Line.

During my summer holidays I was a launch driver at City Island Yacht Club in NYC and one afternoon I had the distinct pleasure of taking Mr. Buckeley out to a friend’s yacht. As you can imagine I was quite nervous and for this reason (coupled with my lack experience in the job) I made what you could refer to as a critical error in navigation. Quite embarrassing! To make matters worse I immediately feared the publicly dismissive gesture or facial expression that Mr. Buckley had so eloquently mastered. You can therefore imagine my surprise when he allowed the rest of his party to depart the boat and *privately* acknowledged my error.

That was not the last navigational error I made in my career at sea but it was private and ultimately encouraging acknowledgements by people I respected that helped me along the path to obtaining a master’s license.

Thank you for identifying the mistake as we strive to move beyond the incipient stage of this endeavor. If you have any future concerns please feel free to contact us via our *private* address found on the contact page of this site:
http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/contact-us/

-John

Re: Proposed Bill Mandates An Increase Of VTS Authority

gcaptain — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 10:18:47 -0000

Kurt, great comment, thanks!

And... I just checked... we don't have a pilot port... at all.

Re: Big Announcement… gCaptain’s First Podcast | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 05:46:02 -0000

Bob/Sailor/Devon/Mike,

Many thanks for the kind words! I'm to be working with Peter on this project and look forward to your future comments.

Re: AIS For Boats. A Welcome Change?

gcaptain — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 06:05:49 -0000

Thanks Richard!

Re: The Most Dangerous Hour In Shipping

gcaptain — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:25:11 -0000

John you're absolutely right, changeover is often the most dangerous time... hard to write an article on that though.

I should have set this part of the post in bold "Not a problem *if* the Third has experience"

Re: The Emma Maersk

gcaptain — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:09:33 -0000

Andre... see the attached post:
http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/emma-maersk-f...

Re: Cosco Busan - ECDIS Tracking w/ Google Maps

gcaptain — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:33:08 -0000

Bob,

I found this post about "Free Earth" on Kurt's weblog... I'll be sure to pass it on to the guys at Jakota:
http://schwehr.org/blog/archives/2007-12.html#e...

Re: AIS Conversation Continued - SHIP VS BOAT

gcaptain — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:36:42 -0000

Joe,

I'm no sure the legal definition of the two but the saying goes, "A boat can be carried on a ship but a ship is too big to be carried on a boat."

Re: Names Survive Countless Years At Sea

gcaptain — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 04:02:38 -0000

Emily, you're right and this is probably the reason I didn't make the grade in my first major; Naval Architecture ;)

Re: Shedding light on rogue waves

gcaptain — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:07:37 -0000

You hope they don't break over the ship but depends on wavelength. The only one I've witnessed was large enough for us to drive up one side and down the other... but one of the successive waves broke.

I couldn't tell you the angle readings as we weren't recording them and during the event I wasn't checking anything but my pants ;)

(Dan, if you're reading.... how's that stack holding up ;)

Re: Collision Avoidance Tip - Call his boss!

gcaptain — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:31:39 -0000

I like the "common sense" advice. The sign by my desk reads "Guys, this isn't rocket science or I wouldn't be here"

Re: Cosco Busan - ECDIS Tracking w/ Google Maps

gcaptain — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:13:16 -0000

Interesting... it sure wouldn't be the first time a bridge had come down from a direct hit:
http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/may-9-1980-ta...

Re: Interesting Ship Of The Week - Geared Funicular Railway

gcaptain — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:23:52 -0000

Tim,

Goog stuff but did you have to send me to the dictionary ;)

funicular:
# relating to or operated by a cable; "funicular railway"
# cable railway: a railway up the side of a mountain pulled by a moving cable and having counterbalancing ascending and descending cars
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Re: Incident Photo Of The Week | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:26:10 -0000

Good stuff John!

Anyone else want to take a shot at it before I announce a t-shirt winner?

Re: Interesting Ship Of The Week - Geared Funicular Railway

gcaptain — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:46:54 -0000

Thanks Jim... the only thing clear to me is I need to recruit an engineer to start contributing to this blog.

Re: The Race Is On - NYC Tugboat Photos

gcaptain — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:06:41 -0000

Bill, Thanks for your comment and be sure to check out our forums where the old seadogs all live!

Re: Maritime Jobs

gcaptain — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:34:40 -0000

Glad you like it Ron!

Re: Incident Photo Of The Week - San Francisco Bridge-Barge Allision

gcaptain — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:54:32 -0000

hmmm... I can try to find out.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

gcaptain — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:57:14 -0000

Bob, you're right and in their defense they are some of the most competent mariners I've worked with yet for various reasons (mostly fear of them taking a mariner's job) they catch a lot of BS. So I understand where they are coming from with sensitive issues.

Actually it was not easy for me to even write the term and I cringe at how it's being thrown around the American press right now. I'd love to get a Filipino mariner to submit a comment here and, if they do, I'll be sure to send it to primary news bloggers.

Re: 5 Most Ambitious Bridge Designs of Today

gcaptain — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:22:24 -0000

Thanks for the kind words Chuck! I'll have to put something together on "super oil structures"... I have some ideas!

Re: Shipboard Digital Camera Tricks

gcaptain — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:09:32 -0000

Very interesting, thanks David!

Re: Maritime News - More Hawaii Superferry Cancellations Due to Environmental Concerns | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:44:28 -0000

Jennifer,

Thanks for your comments... most people include 10 hyperlinks to their site and post it on 6 different atricles so I appreciate you're adding value to the conversation!

For everyone looking for Superferry tickets be sure to click on Jennifer's name for some great deal!

-gCapat Admin

Re: Windoc Incident - Story Behind YouTube’s Most Chilling Video

gcaptain — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:49:48 -0000

Crap.... I need an editor! Thanks Chris!!

Re: A VHF Handheld To Float With | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:39:00 -0000

That would be a great feature!

DSC is tricky, I could see problems with new users "testing" it too often. We already have a problem with relay spam... I could could see similar problems with new user spam.

Re: How To Cheat On Sleep - Tips To Stay Alert On Watch

gcaptain — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:09:12 -0000

LOL, yeah 6 years of this is getting boring ;)

Re: A VHF Handheld To Float With | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:11:21 -0000

Most of Standard's radios are big brown bricks... this one looks much better.

Re: How To Cheat On Sleep - Tips To Stay Alert On Watch

gcaptain — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:55:39 -0000

LOL.... I never minded before but after 6 years nights starting to get old ;)

-JK

Re: Cosco Busan Pilot’s Medical Records Questioned | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:29:32 -0000

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

gcaptain — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:12:01 -0000

Marlon,

A mariner "at heart" maybe?

Re: Moon Setting on Calm Water | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:10:46 -0000

Good catch Lou.... crew change day today and the helo's were backed up from yesterdays fog... so this is a re-run from days prior to knowing better (like today;)

Re: OJ Gets Juiced in Newark

gcaptain — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:13:49 -0000

hmm... good questions

Re: indestructible usb flash drive

gcaptain — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:53:17 -0000

Good tip, I haven't heard of the firefly but I'll surely check it out.

Re: Skysails - Plus - Top 10 Green Ship Designs

gcaptain — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:44:03 -0000

Jeff... sprekend y deutsch?

Re: OJ Gets Juiced in Newark

gcaptain — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:37:32 -0000

No I sure haven't heard more...yet but let us know if you come across something good!

Re: Preventing Oil Spills - Alternatives To Double Hull Ship Design

gcaptain — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:09:36 -0000

Robert, I actually found this while researching Water Ballast Treatment solutions and found it interesting so we posted it. The truth is that after the Exxon Valdez ran aground their were a few alternatives to double hull design proposed by various parties. DH won out and now, nearly 20 years later, every layer of the industry has invested too much money for a change of this type to be done easily. That doesn't mean we can't gently remind them their are other, potentially better, ideas out there.

Re: M/V Explorer Found

gcaptain — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 05:57:18 -0000

Apparently not as fast as you... I just posted this!

Anyway for breaking news check out our Maritime News Discoverer... the blog is usually a few days behind on non-critical news so we can get the story straight.

Re: How One Ship Crashed The Internet For 75 Million People

gcaptain — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:02:33 -0000

I'm glad they found a workaround... even if it's slow but this must be hurting the local economy. I know that Google has a project underway to lay a cable from California west that will add redundancy to the systems coming over from Europe but I think the estimates are it will take a decade to finish.

Re: LMSR Ablaze in Boston

gcaptain — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:15:50 -0000

Will, I heard the crew did an excellent job extinguishing the fire and she got back in service with little delay.

Re: The Meltdown Chair - Recycling Polypropylene Line

gcaptain — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:53:25 -0000

LOL!

Re: Future gCaptain says “My Daddy’s gettting audited” | Tear

gcaptain — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:31:31 -0000

Susan, You're not the only one in this boat. I certainly don't have all the answers but am certainly willing to help as much as possible. Send us an email ( info -at- gcaptain.com) and we'll do our best to help.

Re: Grounded Ship - Video Of Helicopter Rescue

gcaptain — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:46:46 -0000

You're right... the byline looks to be an error on our part. It's getting difficult to keep track of the causality list this month!!

Re: Interview With gCaptain’s Founder | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:34:47 -0000

Many thanks, it was fun.

Re: Future Ships - R/V Aurora Borealis

gcaptain — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:28:41 -0000

All god questions I'm not qualified to answer. Any other readers have insight for Arun?

Re: Ships In Concrete - Best Maritime Inspired Architecture

gcaptain — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:19:58 -0000

Steve,

I wasn't expecting to get called out on that one but it was on my mind. My wife ran the Vancuover marathon a few years ago which was hosted in that very building. I simply failed to find any great photos of it.

Thanks IMC and Joe... all three are great finds and have been added to the post!

Anyone know of more?

Re: Signal Flags | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:47:53 -0000

I could use a smaller version of that on the bridge; “Bravo Zulu, tack Negat D6." meaning great job except the guy who laid down the original track line on the chart!

Re: Sea Stories - Training At Sea

gcaptain — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:41:38 -0000

Capt. Kruger, I received this reply via email from Captain John Denham;

Unfortunately I understand exactly what you are concerned about. With a similar background I expected bigger and better things as I rose from bunk room to the pilot house and quit chipping paint and started plotting star sights. My tutors the 6-8 Masters of yester- years told me of their life at sea. The conditions were bad and most crews except for a few were equally bad. My only solution was to set an example and make sure I was knowledgeable in my reports. If I was the problem I would rather hear it from the crew than the boss. Management has a different view of those at sea. As Assistant Marine Superintendent I could only listen to the captains and mates and then scheme how I could help their cause. The door always opens when something bad happens, just make sure you are not caught on the outside when it closes. Stupid people do dumb things, but the smarter they get the more complicated their errors become. Until I was captain and totally responsible I had no idea how little authority I actually had. I learned that authority could not do it alone. I took it upon myself to became a listener, teacher and example and hoped that some crew members realized that as capatin I was also part of the crew. I never succeeded with everyone, but I did get a number of conversions and survived three ships as captain and team leader. It was my way to survive and still keep being paid. Derek, at 82 I wake almost every night remembering a situation I handled poorly and now I see clearly, how I could have handled it better.
Regards,
John

Re: Names Survive Countless Years At Sea

gcaptain — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:35:44 -0000

Kramer, those are pretty neat RIB's of yours. You'll have to let me take one for a spin the next time I'm in Holland!

Re: Maritime Monday Moving to gCaptain

gcaptain — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:36:04 -0000

Glad to have you Fred!

Re: Mariner Tax Deduction “Kapp-sized” By IRS

gcaptain — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:59:35 -0000

Hi Steve. I'm not sure but give James Maguire a call and he'll fill you in:
http://www.maguiretaxes.com/

Re: Mariner Tax Deduction “Kapp-sized” By IRS

gcaptain — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:38:08 -0000

Hi Steve, thanks for commenting.

I'm confused by the very same question. Normally James Maguire would be happy to post a detailed explanation but, as you can imagine, he's rather busy this month. I have added a few "related posts" below this post... hopefully they can help you out. If not feel free to give James a call directly.

Re: Historic Ship Independence Barred From Her Adopted State | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:13:45 -0000

Will,

Great explanation, thanks!

Re: Marine Geography Quiz | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:01:08 -0000

Nuts... I do that every time.

Re: Humor: The front fell off

gcaptain — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:01:57 -0000

@CMA Great links find!

Re: Enjoy Ships? Fluent in Wiki? Help us launch a new feature.

gcaptain — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:41:21 -0000

HA... good one Nick!

Re: Now That Is An Ugly Ship

gcaptain — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:49:15 -0000

It sure looks like one Fred. Here's the full sized image:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/2308113260_...

Re: The Wartsila-Sulzer Super Engine

gcaptain — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:30:14 -0000

Thanks for the kind words Doug. We are considering a cruise ship section here on gCaptain that would be written by mates and engineers aboard these ships. I think we have a real opportunity to give cruising enthusiasts a behind the scenes look at these amazing ships. Stay Tuned.

Re: Enjoy Ships? Fluent in Wiki? Help us launch a new feature.

gcaptain — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:14:31 -0000

Don,

A problem I had not thought about...!

I'm removing the feature right now until we have the time to give this more thought but I would like to say it seems absolutely crazy to take waypoints from online resources and plug them in without verification. If you are a second mate PLEASE don't do this... if we offer this feature in the future please note it is only intended as a guide to enable you to see the various routes and ideas other mates have used in the past.

Anyway, it might be a moot point since we have yet to find a wiki editor willing to tackle this project.

Re: Enjoy Ships? Fluent in Wiki? Help us launch a new feature.

gcaptain — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:05:27 -0000

Thanks Don,

We are trying to make gCaptain the one small place wiht in the maritime community where common sense prevails.

We don't expect it to be easy so wish us luck ;)

Copyrighted voyage plans, wow. Unfortunately I'm willing to guess at lest a dozen 2/m's are reading your comments and going straight to google with credit cards in hand.

-John

Re: Go Sail A Rust Bucket - 10 Reasons Why

gcaptain — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:29:07 -0000

"No 6 is missing." like I said.... all is not lost for the academically (or numerically) challenged ;)

Fixed

Re: gCaptain Quiz - Unusual Cargo

gcaptain — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:39:28 -0000

iDevon, you're very close... but we need a name for the t-shirt.

Re: gCaptain Quiz - Unusual Cargo

gcaptain — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:20:37 -0000

LOL... I was hesitant to keep the original file name... but no one ever checks the source code ;)

Great work guys.

Re: Pipe Labeling | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 04:54:52 -0000

There sure is:
http://www.allotrans.fi/catalog/en/imo_tapes.php

Re: You are not where you think you are! Explained.

gcaptain — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:38:18 -0000

LOL... we've all had one of "those" teachers.

Re: You are not where you think you are! Explained.

gcaptain — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:03:43 -0000

"just very thorough, one of a handful I’ll remember down the road." agreed.... that's why we asked him to write for us!

Re: Google Toolbar Buttons - Maritime Edition

gcaptain — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:05:03 -0000

Glad we can help!

Re: What If? Chemical, Biological, Radiation Attack San Francisco | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:43:56 -0000

I'm not an expert and I believe Captain Denham is on vacation this week but here's a shot at some answers:

"Why move the ship at all. Why not decon on site?" Fist you need to get relief supplies into the harbor so your going to need to bring military supply ships in. Your also going to need to get people out of the city.... why not load them on ships and head to sea?

"why not import firefighting tugs and their crew" This will surely be done.

"What are the decon methods for ships, and citys?" I;m not sure about cities but any ship carrying military supplies needs to have a CBRD locker and trained crew members. Otherwise your right about flooding the decks. The key to nuclear fallout is:

TIME - DISTANCE - SHIELDING

In other words get as far away as practical, as fast as you can making sure to "shield" yourself during the escape.

Re: gCaptain Aquired By Unofficial Networks For $1.9 Million US | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:53:59 -0000

Capt932,

While your assumption is technically correct this post was the tactical implementation of our international strategy which recognizes the need for global diversification and brand awareness.

The technical logistics are a closely guarded secret but the short answer is; we shall be leveraging our vast supply of high interest debt with the ultimate goal of increasing internal inefficiencies. The mechanics of the deal include an equity swap, asset-backed securities, non-convertible indentures and all other means offered prior to the commoditization of the maritime blogosphere and resultant diminishing worth of our core asset.

Re: Ballast Free Ships

gcaptain — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:33:00 -0000

"I wonder how frequently other ships have had “incidents” while conducting a ballast exchange?" good question. I can think of at least 2 very close calls.

Re: 30 Days of San Francisco Ship Traffic - Charted | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:44:58 -0000

Amazing, thanks John!

Re: TWIC Enrollment Locations - Google Map | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:06:39 -0000

No problem Jack... I just wish there was more time for nice features like this.

Re: Official Report on the M/V Pasha Bulker | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:16:58 -0000

Thanks for the update Ian!

Re: La Ponant Captured By Somali Pirates | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:16:34 -0000

My sources say she remains at anchor while France and Philippines negotiate for her release with the US Navy standing by in case the pirates do anything that "crosses the line".

Re: gCaptain Aquired By Unofficial Networks For $1.9 Million US | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:09:07 -0000

Thanks everyone for an enjoyable April Fools! I'm honored and humbled by the 20+ people who emailed me with congratulations, in doing so you joined us in thinking this dream is possible.

-John

Re: Queen of the West Fire this AM

gcaptain — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:35:04 -0000

Jack,

I've never been aboard a Majestic ship but the response from the Empress of the North incident on our forum makes it pretty clear your comments are spot on.

Re: gCaptain Quiz - 4 Tiny Subsea Cables | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:01:38 -0000

I'l be posting the answer on a separate post later today... but it looks like it'll be nothing new to this crowd ;)

-John

Re: Women in the US Navy - Centennial | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:50:03 -0000

We have been watching the show "America's Port" religiously.... we'll have to add this on the list as well. Thanks.

Re: Arms Dealer - Cosco Busan’s Next Gig? | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:57:46 -0000

Sorry guys, this is one of only a couple of comments ever written that angers me… but the problem is most likely in my writing style, not in my intent or knowledge of the case.

Kennebec Captain:

I wrote “complexity. This is the reason why the Cosco is not liable for the clean-up of oil”.

Maybe I did not do a very good job at writing the article but Cosco not being liable was stated.

PETER:
“It is important to research accurately before publishing” I admit the headline is leading but that’s the extent of any willful deception.

You state after 3 years you are still learning so do you not agree with my point “the truth would require a large scale investigation”?

We do not have the resources for this. Should we instead not post anything? I stand by the fact that this blog researches more and makes less mistakes concerning maritime affairs than any big budget national newspaper. Should we be held to a higher standard?

Hear at gCaptain we have 2 primary goals:

1) Get people to read our posts.

This was the intent of the headline.

2) Give an insiders perspective to maritime affairs.

In this article we clipped the sentence “The carrier is listed as the Cosco shipping company in China.” Our commentary was about the complexity of ship ownership and the intention was simply to tell our readers that just because the word “Cosco” is painted on the side or listed in a manifest doesn’t mean they are liable.

2.5) Goal 2 can also be written “Give outsiders a seat at the Captain’s Table”

This is not a newspaper or a magazine it is a blog, you need to know this inorder to take the posts into context. At gCaptain we simple want to inform our readers of what’s being talked about at the Captain’s table. Just like the captain’s table in the mess room of all ships, the old man isn’t always right or even has all the facts but he does attempt to explain the situation to the green third mate or the visiting guest. Incident investigation is not the Captain’s job… running a ship is, but he does his best… so do we.

-John

Re: Arms Dealer - Cosco Busan’s Next Gig? | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:07:16 -0000

The garbage barge was one of NY's finest moments... more recently the Independence (oceanic) suffered the same fate... but I have a feeling Mozambique will be more generous in their terms. If not they can always get a speedy discharge in Somalia... they might not even need to dock for that one.

No worries on the comments.... it's been a long week.

-John

Re: IMO Numbers

gcaptain — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:05:50 -0000

Marof,

That is not the case. My ship was built in 2000 and its IMO # starts with 92

Re: 5 Most Ambitious Bridge Designs of Today

gcaptain — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:48:28 -0000

I have only sailed through the straight, I never stood on either side, but my wife has and she agrees with you... sorry for the error! -John

Re: Titanic Response | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:40:52 -0000

That's what we're here for!

Anyone have other thoughts on the subject?

Re: Photo Of The Week - S/V Concordia

gcaptain — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:11:02 -0000

Shows how much I know about photoshop!

I'll leave the final decision to the readers... keep it as is OR vote it off the homepage?

-John

(Thanks Pete)

Re: Maritime Safety Podcast - Seductive Sims | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:18:14 -0000

They have since moved their site. Try this:
http://www.maritimeaccident.org/

Re: DHS Biometric Database - Concerns And A Controversial Solution | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:45:35 -0000

Excellent comment, thanks John!

Re: gCaptain Birthday Givaway

gcaptain — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:31:21 -0000

Thanks Ran... these comments are really meant to help us figure out what content to offer more of.

CMA_decky... how come the only commentator on the gCaptain payroll has trouble spelling educated? SMILE

Re: Should Have Used the Grits

gcaptain — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:42:33 -0000

More from macadamia_man...

Ineffective. The theory is that the fire ants eat the dry corn grits, drink some water, and then die as the corn grits expand inside them. The image of greedy little ants exploding like popcorn inside their mounds is very compelling. The problem is that fire ant workers only drink liquids; they are incapable of ingesting solids. Fire ant larvae will eat solid food, but they chew it up and mix it with saliva just like we do before they swallow it.

Grits simply don't work, so any perceived effects are due to mound disturbance and colony movement.

Re: gCaptain Birthday Givaway

gcaptain — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:16:34 -0000

LOL.... Anchorman and Capt Lee is certainly what I like most about the forum!

-John

Re: Building The World’s Largest Crane

gcaptain — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:23:39 -0000

Thanks for the comment Lim... we enjoy having an international perspective so be sure to tell your colleagues.

Re: Incident Photo Of The Week - Lifeboat Bottle Explosion | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:36:43 -0000

I asked a very similar question a few months back, Bob Couttie gave a good response:

http://gcaptain.com/s/58430/

Re: Poor Loading Plan Of the Week - Cars | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:50:25 -0000

Unfortunately there are no details provided :(

Re: gCaptain Birthday Contest Winners

gcaptain — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:13:18 -0000

Sure will Fabian.

Re: World’s Largest Non-Nuclear Explosion | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:41:39 -0000

Will do, thanks Jeremy.

Re: Rescue At Sea - A Video

gcaptain — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:18:11 -0000

It sure does!

and thanks for the comment JT!

Re: Quiz - Which Port Detained The Most Ships in 2007? | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:16:03 -0000

SO WHICH IS IT???

Re: European Union Observes First Ever Maritime Day | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 20 May 2008 23:20:24 -0000

Great Post.

Really enjoyed the graphs... Thanks

Re: EPIRBs Failure - The Investigation Continues | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:07:55 -0000

Ben,

I can't speak for Robin by that's excatly my issue... we have no evidence or data on EPIRB failures since few are alive to tell the story. Untill the USCG starts performing autopsy's on failed units AND starts randomly testing these things (in the field) we will not know the true stats.

Re: Error In Navigation - Tracing Paper Blamed | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:35:01 -0000

JKB, many thanks for the insight. I'll add the Neptunuslex link to the main article.

-John

Re: Freefall Lifeboats - Is there a safer way?

gcaptain — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:18:28 -0000

Agreed, especially aboard ships on coastal trades or supporting the oil and gas industry close to shore.

Re: Starved to Sleep | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:04:04 -0000

Ben,

Glad to hear that it does work... just wish you told me a few years back ;)

Re: Where are the Inspectors?

gcaptain — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:26:37 -0000

KC,

HA... having worked Chief Mate as recently as a few months ago I can say with conviction it ain't much better.

Now the position was on an exploratory drillship but during my 6 years time in position I witnessed the proportion of deck time to desk time completely invert. Part of the problem is that the ship had full time internet, email and reletively inexpensive phone lines which created a second inversion. When I started company HQ was often called "shoreside support... now the majority of calls are from shore asking the ship questions like "What is the HP of your thrusters?" (actuall question I recieved on my last hitch). In Feb every ship was asked to conver all JSA's and checklists from excel to word format. This took me and the Jr. mates a week to finish... and cold have been easily completed by a High School Intern for $10 an hour or an Overseas outsourcing agency for $0.50 per hour. And don't get me started on the ISPS reporting.

Now the Captain has it worse BUT he also has the power to deligate tasks to the officers. The Chief Mate has the power to deligate tasks to the unlicensed crew but as you can imagine SMS reporting is not the stron suit of *most* AB's.

-John

Re: The World’s First Nuclear Merchant Ship - N/S Savannah

gcaptain — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:10:35 -0000

Glenn,

It's great to hear from you. Please feel free to post any stories from the time, we'd love to here them!

Re: Wired Ocean - Broadband Internet At Sea | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:27:41 -0000

Mike... we accept cash, check or charge ;)

Good point Ben.

-John

Re: The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger

gcaptain — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:07:54 -0000

Thanks Scott and be sure to spread the word!

Re: Shipping Companies Sized By Market Capitalization

gcaptain — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:31:14 -0000

Brian, this is based on Marcket Cap (what Wall Street thinks the company is worth) not the size of a companies assets.

While Transocean doesn't transport anything they do own quite a few of the world's most technologically advanced and largest vessels.

Re: The Repo Man of Ships

gcaptain — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:52:11 -0000

Thanks OneEighteen!

Re: USCG Rescue Swimmer School

gcaptain — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:09:44 -0000

Victoria,

Sounds like an fun class!

Re: Maritime Academy - Cadet Shipping | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:09:14 -0000

Peter,

I whitnessed an ensign try that with a Master Chief once. I must say he was very nice in his refusal!

Re: Quiz - What is it?

gcaptain — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:35:11 -0000

You guys are way to fast!

Re: Cruise Ship Hard Aground in Alaska | gCaptain.com

gcaptain — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:25:32 -0000

uscg.mil ;)

Re: gCaptain’s Travel Gear - An Office Aboard Ship

gcaptain — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:19:19 -0000

Texino.... we have way too few mac techs in the Maritime world. Thanks for the comments! -John

Re: Golden Shellback Preview - Run Electronic Gear Underwater

gcaptain — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:10:20 -0000

Believe me... it's real! Just don't ask me technical question about how they do it. I'll try my best to give an overview of the process in my next blog post.

Of note, all future posts about Golden Shellback can be accessed directly via the following link. Be sure to bookmark it!

http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/tag/golden-sh...

-John
Founder & CEO
http://gcaptain.com

Re: Golden Shellback FAQ

gcaptain — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:44:01 -0000

Scott,

It doesn't protect against the pressures experienced at depth.

Rick,

The coating uses ideas learned from the manufacturing of semi-conductors so it's bonding at the molecular level. Speakers and touch screens are seemingly unaffected. The contacts need to be masked, either by coating the device with plugs attached or applying tape.

Re: Golden Shellback - Hands On Review Of Weather Resistant Phone

gcaptain — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:10:08 -0000

Remco, Depends on the repair but one coated circuit board could be changed out for another coated one if each part was coated at the factory.

Re: Golden Shellback FAQ

gcaptain — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:07:10 -0000

Michael, why do you think they gave me the exclusive? Maybe because we designed and built the on line services for NMI?

I understand your concerns which is one reason we facilitated demonstrations with tekzilla, CNET and gizmodo shortly after posting. Prior to that the video was an exclusive.

http://tinyurl.com/5sbbyz

Re: Golden Shellback FAQ

gcaptain — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:18:38 -0000

Michael, the only post titled "review" only posts links and video provided by 3rd parties, not commentary by gCaptain.

Unfortunately we are not journalists and do not have degree's in Journalistic Practices. We are mariners who work on ships, our expertise is the sea.

As mariners we live by the mariner's creed "One hand for you and one for the ship". If we can save lives we do, without thinking of the economic impact to the company that pays our salary. To this point gCaptain, or any of our bloggers, has not received any monetary compensation from Golden Shellback and does not have any contract in place. Do we hope this changes in the future? Yes. Are the other blogs aware of our relationship? Yes.

The bottom line is this technology is going to save lives and we want to help promote it.

I will update the FAQ with a brief explanation on the relationship and move these comments to a more appropriate place on this blog.

Re: Same gCaptain, Great New Look

gcaptain — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:49:38 -0000

Mr. White,

Can you be more specific with the problems you are experiencing?

Thanks!

Re: gCaptain Tip - Confined Space Entry with PASS Device

gcaptain — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:14:20 -0000

Not too many American ships use PASS devices and if they do it's usually for the Fire Teams. While reviewing confined space rescue techniques, this was suggested and since we already had them in the Fire gear locker we decided to give them a try. They work great.

We later found out that MSA makes one specifically for this task (but it works the same basic way):
http://www.msafire.com/catalog/product748.html

Re: SPOT Messenger Contest - The Results Are In

gcaptain — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:30:04 -0000

Seesmic video reply from Disqus.

Re: USCG’s 45-foot Response Boat-Meduim - Video

gcaptain — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:30:47 -0000

Fixed, thank you!

Re: Google’s Simple Test To Check Sobriety Or Alertness

gcaptain — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:00:56 -0000

MV,

Agreed!

Re: The Pirate Ship M/V Communicator - Interesting Ship Of The Week

gcaptain — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 02:02:58 -0000

Very interesting comments! Thanks for the insights everyone!!

Re: Pilot Commission Finds Cosco Busan Pilot John Cota At Fault

gcaptain — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:08:40 -0000

Paul,

I agree, Cota's main error was in not recognizing the mess around him. The other errors can be summed up in the report statement:

"Captain Cota was unaware that Captain Sun and his crew had only joined the vessel on Oct 24 (two weeks previously) when there was a change in the vessel's ownership.".

The most I have personally seen in a two week period was an 80% change of the marine dept and this was followed by the closest near-miss I have ever witnessed.

It is hard enough for one individual to work with a new bridge team aboard an unfamiliar ship. It is criminal to have every member of the bridge team try to do this and the company official who made the decision should be on trial. In my opinion Captain Cota and Sun suffered from the less objectionable charge of cowardice for not walking off the vessel.... but how many captains have you seen walk away from an operation they knew was unsafe? It's a common problem in the industry as fear of loosing one's job seems to trump fear of an incident.... surprising to me considering the myriad of employment opportunities available to mariners today.

I do, however, find it hard to dismiss the fact Cota completely forgot he had a tug alongside. This seems inexcusable.

Re: The Ten Largest Container Shipping Companies Visualized

gcaptain — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:09:29 -0000

Fixed, thanks M.

Re: Bayonne Bridge Is No Easy (or cheap) Fix

gcaptain — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:34:52 -0000

Correct JP!

Re: 2008/06/07/google-favicon/

gcaptain — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 11:55:01 -0000

I think each service should have a different color of the same favicon... so you can tell them apart quickly.

Re: The Guinness tankers

gcaptain — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:45:29 -0000

Looks like she was scrapped in Livepool in Feb of 1994:
http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/show/5965...

More here:
http://bit.ly/fwNBA

Re: The flipping ship

gcaptain — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:22:34 -0000

Wow and I though gCaptain had the monopoly on cool ship posts! Guess I was wrong.

Re: Privateers- Backing Your Pirate Ships

gcaptain — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:42:30 -0000

Awesome Chris! Don't forget to bring a real pirate expert along for the ride. I'll suggest @petermello for leadership piracy.

-Captain John

Re: Rodeo Beach Sunset, A San Francisco Oil Spill Casualty

gcaptain — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 01:32:14 -0000

I live in Morro Bay (4 hrs south of you) and 5 out of the 7 people I mentioned the story to today had not heard of it!

Great photos BTW!

Re: Dear China: Engaging the Country in a Greener Future

gcaptain — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:34:55 -0000

Every one says we are importing too many goods to china, but few people know that we export too many goods as well: "China s Largest Export. Mike Rowe Might Be Proud."